And the Truth Will Set You…
Part 3
As Lois stood in the small box with strangers pressed against her on all sides, she wondered about where she was and how she’d gotten there. It had been three days since she’d last seen Clark. Where was he? Then again, where was she? Physically, she was riding up an elevator to the bullpen of the most respected newspaper in Metropolis. The problem was that this elevator led to the offices of the Star. It was the most respected newspaper in the city only because the city’s real newspaper was out of business.
The door opened and people jostled her as they hurried to their desks. That had never happened at the Planet. That had been her domain and no one had dared mess with the top dog. Here, well, she was nothing more than a part-time freelancer.
She’d figured that even freelancing, Lois Lane would be treated with a great deal of respect. She’d been wrong. Too many people here had spent too many years trailing both her and the Planet. When she first walked in here two days ago, she was greeted with both fear and respect. When word got out that she was only freelancing, that pretty much disappeared. Oh, there were a few people here and there that made an effort to welcome her. Their motivation may have been respect, or it may have been pure self-interest. Whatever their reasons might be, after two days of mostly frosty receptions, Lois was grateful for the friendly faces she did encounter.
As she started across the newsroom floor, she was struck by the sterile feel of the place. It was an efficient and modern office, but it had no soul. On second thought, maybe this place had a soul, it was simply made of plastic and aluminum. Lois had seen these kinds of newsrooms before. When she was a young girl thinking about a future in news, she had imagined she would be working in a place like this. It had even seemed exciting. Then she saw the Planet and knew what it meant for a place to have soul. The Planet did. This … didn’t. When this business was done, Lois guessed she’d probably be leaving Metropolis. She wouldn’t work at LNN, and at this moment the Star looked almost as unattractive.
She was here today to meet with the editor … her editor. She reached Petersen’s door and was about to knock when he looked up and waved her in. As she opened the door, he greeted her in a tone that was all business. “Good morning, Lois, please come in.”
“Good morning, Mr. Petersen,” Lois replied as she closed the door behind her. “You asked me to see you today.”
He motioned at a chair. “Let’s get down to brass tacks. What’s going on with Superman?”
Lois tried her very best to look confused. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“Don’t give me that,” he challenged. “You must know what I’m talking about.”
Lois just stared back at him. After a few seconds, he sighed and continued with an air of exasperation. “Fine, let’s go over the facts. On Monday afternoon, Superman helped clean up a multi-car accident up on Highway 795. There were no major accidents on Tuesday so at the time no one paid much attention to the fact that he wasn’t seen. On Wednesday, a small boat went down in the harbor and there was a bank robbery. These kinds of incidents have been prime Superman attractors, but the big guy never showed. That was enough to get some people, including me, wondering. Finally, this morning there was a fire in one of the older apartment buildings at the edge of downtown. Eleven people died because no rescuers could get through the flames. In human terms this is the worst catastrophe in Metropolis in the last year, and Superman was nowhere in sight.”
She felt an icy grip on her heart. This was the first she’d heard of the fire. In that instant all she could think was that eleven people had died because Superman hadn’t been there. They’d died because Clark left Metropolis. They’d died, and it was her fault. Her mind was being pummeled by flashes of thought. If not for… Clark would be… After a few seconds, she realized that she was risking giving away too much. She needed to get through this. She tried to still her thoughts and addressed her editor. “Mr. Petersen, it’s a tragedy and I’m surprised that Superman didn’t help. But what does this have to do with me?”
He must have noticed her shocked reaction but the tone of his reply revealed nothing. “The Star will be publishing that timeline in tomorrow morning’s paper under a ‘Where is Superman?’ headline. Earlier this morning I was looking at the dates and I realized that you came to the Star the same day Superman went missing.” Petersen stood up and looked out the window. “Lois, I may not be Perry White but I’m no fool, and I have connections. Yesterday afternoon I learned from our Society columnist that on Tuesday, you turned down Lex Luthor’s offer of marriage. Not much leaks out of LexCorp Tower, but the story is that he was very unhappy. Some people have speculated that one of the reasons he bought the Planet was in order to have a closer connection to you.”
Lex’s reasons for buying the Planet were old news, and anyway they didn’t mean anything now that the Planet was gone. “Mr. Petersen, I don’t know…”
He held up his hand. “Don’t bother, Lois. I’m just telling you what I hear. What’s interesting is that on the same day you broke off your relationship with Lex Luthor, Superman went missing.”
He paused as if to give her the opportunity to reply, but she hadn’t heard anything she considered worthy of a response. After a few seconds, Petersen continued. “Lois, you may not feel like you live in the spotlight, but everyone in the world saw you kiss Superman to send him off to intercept the Nightfall asteroid.”
That was too much. The fact that she had a personal relationship with Superman was closer to the truth than he could be allowed to know. She wasn’t sure exactly where he was going, but she wasn’t here so that her personal life could sell newspapers. Lois stood abruptly and turned to head for the door while saying, “If all you want is tabloid…” She’d only taken a single step when she heard a plea from Petersen.
“Please don’t go. I think you’ve misunderstood what I’m saying. I assure you that I’m not the enemy here.”
Something about the way he spoke gave her pause. She’d done some research on Petersen before she came to the Star. He was smart and a class act. He’d been hired to try to take the Star up a notch. She turned and sat down. “Okay, but if I get up again, I won’t come back.”
“Fair enough,” Petersen said as he sat down. “I want a win-win for you and my paper. Like I said, you have a history with Superman. As of today, everyone is wondering where he’s gone. Because of that history, you’re going to be part of the story. You may not like it, but you know how these things go.”
He was right, but this still had a tabloid feel. With a sense of trepidation she said, “Go on.”
“It won’t be too long before it’s common knowledge that Superman is missing. Because of your history with Superman, your name will inevitably get pulled into the story. All that’s left to make your life impossible is to have word get out that you broke up with Luthor the same day Superman disappeared. When that happens, at the very least you will need a friendly forum. I’m not interested in anything that belongs in a supermarket tabloid, but others will go there quickly. As long as you’re here, why don’t we help each other? The Star can provide a haven and defend you if – when – the negative insinuations come up.”
“That’s very kind,” she replied in a sarcastic tone. “What do you expect out of the arrangement?”
“Lois, you have to admit that this looks like some kind of soap opera. Others will look at this and call it a classic love triangle with Superman and Lex Luthor. Now, for the record, I don’t believe anything like that happened, but I’m willing to bet that when the real story of Superman’s whereabouts breaks, you will be the person to have it. I want the Star to have that exclusive.”
~~~***~~~
As Lois rode the elevator down from the offices of the Star she was glad to have gotten out of the meeting without Clark’s name coming up. When Petersen started discussing timelines, she was sure he was going to include the fact that Clark disappeared on the same day that everything else had happened.
Lois couldn’t believe Clark had acted so stupidly and disappeared the way he did. It wasn’t that she thought he was stupid for leaving… Well, he was, but Lois could understand that part. She’d hurt him. Now that she understood him better – both sides of him – she could guess that avoidance was his primary means for coping with his uniqueness. That explained so much of how they’d gotten to where they were. Lois felt like she’d played both of their talks from Sunday over in her head a thousand times. Looking back now, she could see how much he was hurting. She understood why he left.
But having Superman and Clark Kent disappear the same day?! That was stupid. If Lex really is the criminal that Clark said, then what would it mean if Lex noticed the timing? That first night after Clark had left her apartment, Lois had been convinced that she’d have the chance to talk to him. She’d been sure that either Superman or Clark Kent would stick around for at least a week so that no one would have the chance to notice that they disappeared together. But, he’d let his emotions get the better of him and now his secret was at risk.
The bump of the elevator reaching the ground floor startled Lois out of her muse. She needed to hurry to make a meeting with Sammy the Mouse. Once she’d decided that she needed to do something – anything – other that become Mrs. Lex Luthor, she’d figured her best course of action was to get back to what she knew. That’s when she hit on the idea of freelancing as an investigative journalist for the Star. She wanted to stay in Metropolis for now, but didn’t want to commit to any job on a long-term basis. Peterson had been ready to hire her in a second to join the staff, but he’d had to be convinced to bring Lois on as a freelance contributor.
Given all the trouble she’d had this week reaching her regular contacts, she’d felt fortunate to be able to reach Sammy. All of her contacts were good at providing information. While Sammy did give her information, his real talent was… artifacts. He’d once provided the key to a locker that contained the payoff ledger for a major drug ring. Another time he’d left her a tape that contained a recording of a conversation that led to a story on industrial espionage. He was better at acquisitions than anyone Lois had ever met. That was why she called him mouse. He was a small, thin kid with brown hair and, based on what he’d provided over the years, he was as hard to keep out as a mouse. Lois believed that he might have a bit of a crush on her, but he was so shy it was hard to tell. In any case, today he was the only informant in Metropolis that seemed willing to talk with Lois Lane.
Eventually she reached the site where she was supposed to make contact with Sammy. It was way off the beaten path and she had to promise Sammy that she’d cover her tracks getting there. In accordance with his instruction, she took a seat on the empty bench and took out a book to read.
After a few minutes she heard a voice behind her. “Lois, please don’t react. Don’t turn around. And while we’re talking, don’t use my name. I can’t be sure we’re safe.”
She held the book up higher to make it more difficult for anyone to notice that she was speaking. “What’s this all about?” she asked.
The voice was barely above a whisper but it was unmistakably Sammy’s. “You sure did something that made someone with a lot of power very angry. Word is all over the street that anyone caught talking to you has a short life expectancy.”
Based on the trouble she’d had getting her contacts to talk, this made sense, but was unexpected. “When did this happen?”
“About noon Tuesday,” he answered. “From what I could tell it all seemed to be coming down from that guy that everyone calls the Boss.”
The thoughts were like flashbulbs popping in her mind. Tuesday? Afternoon? The Boss suddenly wanted to make her life difficult? Could this be Lex’s doing?
Then she remembered the Boss’s reputation for ruthlessness. “Do you know if my life is in danger?”
“No, just the opposite,” Sammy answered quickly. “Word is that you are to be unharmed. Whoever ordered this was worried that some people might try to gain favor with the Boss by helping you … have an accident. You are untouchable, but unapproachable. I’d guess that someone wants to make sure you have a hard time making it as a reporter in this town.”
The Boss wanted her to have difficulty doing her job but didn’t want her harmed. That was very interesting but would have to wait for later. “Thanks for the warning. Do you have anything for me on the subject we discussed?”
“Yeah, there was this one guy, Sam Jacobson. He seemed to have some extra money right after the Planet went up.”
That sounded like someone Lois needed to meet. “Where does he live?”
“The city morgue. Two days after the Planet exploded, he turned up full of holes.”
So that wasn’t going to lead anywhere. “Was he a freelancer or did he usually work for anyone in particular?”
“All these guys are freelance. There’s a rumor that he’s done work for the Boss several times.”
A chill hit her. “So the Boss blew the Planet?”
“I don’t know. Listen, Lois, I'm sorry but I need to be somewhere else.”
“Thanks for taking the chance on me. I owe you big time.”
“You'll make it up to me. I know that.” There was a pause and Lois thought he’d gone. “By the way, what kind of fight did you have with Kent?”
“How did you know we had a fight?”
“On Monday, Sa…. Well, my friend Sal was in the park. She said you two were having some kind of intense discussion. When it was over Kent looked … not good. No one has seen him since. Did he finally tell you how he feels about you?”
“What do you know about Clark’s … feelings?”
She heard a chuckle. “I think everyone in the city knows but you. I know bookies that have taken bets about whether you two end up together.” There was a pause. “I have some money on that myself. Since I have a vested interest, why not tell me what happened? We can call it partial payment on what you owe me.”
It was none of his business, but Sammy was special. “We sort of had a fight. But I haven’t seen him since Monday either. Believe me, I’ve tried to reach him.”
There was a pause as Sammy digested this. “Well, I guess that’s what I get for backing the long shot.”
He backed the long shot? Did that mean that Sammy was betting that they’d end up together? Enough of that. “Do you have anything else for me?” she asked.
Nothing but silence. It appeared that the meeting was done. It had been a very valuable one. In fact, today had been insightful all across the board. It seemed probable that the Boss had ordered the destruction of the Planet. The same Boss had ordered that she be cut off from information on the same day she’d broken up with Lex.
Could Lex be the Boss? A week ago, that would have sounded preposterous. But with what she knew now the pattern was very suggestive. Lex bought the Planet. Then its destruction left her adrift. As the owner of the Planet, Lex was in a position to make sure that few if any questions had been asked. The closing of the Planet was the driving force in the dispersal of all of her friends. It had left her floundering without direction.
The implication was staggering. Would Lex have done all that – spent that kind of money – to push her into marrying him? It seemed outrageous, but Lex had billions. In comparison to the financial resources he had available, the cost was negligible. But this all hinged on Lex either being the Boss or working very closely with the crime lord.
As Lois stood and prepared to leave the park, she was planning her next move. This was going to require help. Where was Clark?
~~~***~~~
Lex surveyed the city with the calm assurance of a man that knows a good day when he sees it. Not that Lex Luthor had bad days. Others had bad days. For Lex, all days fell into two categories. There were days when he prepared for the future and there were days when the preparations bore fruit. Tuesday, when Lois announced her belief that their relationship was over, was of the former sort. Today was the latter.
“Mrs. Cox, what information do we have relating to the apartment fire this morning?”
“Eleven people from six different families died. The youngest was nine years old. The oldest was 87…”
Lex cut her off. “What about the survivors?” She was thorough, but sometimes failed to appreciate which details were important.
She changed course without hesitation. “There are survivors of each family in Metropolis. In three cases, the family members survived by being out when the fire occurred.”
“Have relatives of the victims been interviewed?”
“Yes sir. Per standing instructions we have identified those most likely to go on record blaming Superman for the deaths of their family members.”
Lex turned to look out over the city. He could feel the smile growing on his face. “In battle one should always strike hardest when his opponent cannot retaliate.” He turned back to his assistant. “I want all of our associates to push this as strongly as possible. Use the interviews with the survivors. Get more if necessary. LNN has a new editorial position: If Superman can’t be counted on to be here when he’s needed, then he should stay away. Make sure it’s angry.”
TBC
Bob
